Jason W. VassellNORTHAMPTON – With both sides apparently trying to reach a plea agreement, a Hampshire Superior Court judge scheduled a hearing on Friday in the case of Jason W. Vassell.
Vassell, 24, a former University of Massachusetts student, is facing two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for allegedly stabbing two men in his UMass dormitory in 2008. Vassell, who is black, said the two white men had earlier accosted him from outside his window, using racist slurs. The men, who were not UMass students, then entered the dormitory and a confrontation ensured. Vassell’s nose was broken in the fight.
A legion of Vassell supporters have followed the case through the courts, maintaining that Vassell was singled out for prosecution because of his race. A judge granted a request by Vassell’s lawyers to review the case filed in the Northwestern District Attorney’s office for indications of racial bias.
In a motion to postpone a hearing scheduled for March, the defense stated that it has been working on a plea agreement with the prosecution. Although Vassell’s advocates packed the courtroom on Tuesday in expectation of a plea, Judge Judd J. Carhart continued the matter to 10 a.m. on Friday at the request of counsel.